Your sadistic options are...

[Myria]

Neither. Screw 'em both. Let new people come up with new IP.

That's the problem with the gaming industry. A lustful reverence for the weirdly incestuous relationship between developers and their IPs. Like Ow Wow, Hideo Kojima is attached to the project! That must make it good, 'cause he made that one game that one time!

They're just dudes and if we were truly honest with ourselves we'd realize there isn't a good IP out there, just individually good games set in an IP filled with lackluster titles.

Pretty much this.

I would have thought the long line of delays, disappointments, epic fails, and outright scams that have come out of crowdfunding attracting well known devs like flies would have cured people of the whole "Devs as rockstars, their true art held back by evil corporations" delusion.

Guess not.

Epic Number Ten, anyone?

 

[Saelune]

Well, when you say Developer, as it is now?

Cause for me this is do I save Bethesda or The Elder Scrolls? I really love the world of TES and not everyone who worked on Morrowind is still at Bethesda and who knows, maybe the legacy of TES could survive with a new Developer...under Zenimax/Bethesda Softworks.

Plus they might just stick to Fallout then and while I like Fallout, I love TES.

 

[MrCalavera_v1legacy]

Oh darn, that's a though choice. I don't think i can pick THE favorite developer or IP, but lemme think about those that mean something to me...

Well, i had some good fun with Valve Software's games. I know they haven't been making many new ones recently but- what's that?

Spoiler: They are making a new game?

Oh...

Well, let's move onto IPs then.

Spoiler: Fallout is one of those series that occupies a special place in-

[/spoiler]
Ohhhhhh...

Yeah, whichever option works.

 

[Asita]

Well, when you say Developer, as it is now?

Cause for me this is do I save Bethesda or The Elder Scrolls? I really love the world of TES and not everyone who worked on Morrowind is still at Bethesda and who knows, maybe the legacy of TES could survive with a new Developer...under Zenimax/Bethesda Softworks.

Plus they might just stick to Fallout then and while I like Fallout, I love TES.

Honestly, I'm increasingly erring towards the opinion that Bethesda needs to outsource TES. The world and lore are fantastic and I'll play just for those, but the actual games have an almost criminal lack of polish which is only 'forgiven' to the extent that they provide a good basis for prolific mod communities which fix their issues (SkyUI, Unofficial Patches), introduce more compelling characters (Inigo), expand upon the content (Moonpath to Elswyr, Immersive Armors/Weapons), or throw a curveball with new mechanics (Frostfall, Realistic Needs), new magic and/or perk overhauls (Apocalypse, PerMa), or entirely new expansion style adventures (Helgen Reborn, the Forgotten City). I know that whenever I talk about my appreciation for the Elder Scrolls, it's always about the lore. Not the quests, not the gameplay. Not the voice acting, not the character models. Just the lore. Which makes me wonder about the results if Bethesda provided the backstory and direction while another studio handled the actual game.

 

[Saelune]

Well, when you say Developer, as it is now?

Cause for me this is do I save Bethesda or The Elder Scrolls? I really love the world of TES and not everyone who worked on Morrowind is still at Bethesda and who knows, maybe the legacy of TES could survive with a new Developer...under Zenimax/Bethesda Softworks.

Plus they might just stick to Fallout then and while I like Fallout, I love TES.

Honestly, I'm increasingly erring towards the opinion that Bethesda needs to outsource TES. The world and lore are fantastic and I'll play just for those, but the actual games have an almost criminal lack of polish which is only 'forgiven' to the extent that they provide a good basis for prolific mod communities which fix their issues (SkyUI, Unofficial Patches), introduce more compelling characters (Inigo), expand upon the content (Moonpath to Elswyr, Immersive Armors/Weapons), or throw a curveball with new mechanics (Frostfall, Realistic Needs), new magic and/or perk overhauls (Apocalypse, PerMa), or entirely new expansion style adventures (Helgen Reborn, the Forgotten City). I know that whenever I talk about my appreciation for the Elder Scrolls, it's always about the lore. Not the quests, not the gameplay. Not the voice acting, not the character models. Just the lore. Which makes me wonder about the results if Bethesda provided the backstory and direction while another studio handled the actual game.

I may like Morrowind more than Skyrim, and I may like Morrowind more than TESVI, but to be fair, they are still leagues above...most other games. TES is the only reliable open-world series that is actually going to have things to do between points A and B. And all the bugginess is because of the ambition of the games, and they tend to do a good job of fixing the big ones.

People are spoiled with mods and I hate the mentality of modders with TES. I dont use mods and still enjoy all TES games...except Arena but Arena kinda sucks. And TES remains a highly moddible series, to the point that its what is bringing modding to consoles.

 

[TheSlothOverlord]

Eh, if I were serious I'd save the dev (cause I mean, it's kind of the ethical thing to do, they're a human after all), but for the sake of the thread I'll choose the IP.

After all, there's more than 7,5 billion of us on this planet now - let's be honest, at this point no one is truly irreplacable. Sure, you can get a spiritual successor to the IP, but it's never going to be quite the same thing (unless you're willing to be sued for copyright infringement). Whereas, you can get a talented, dedicated fan to work on it, who'll be able to do the series just as well, if not better than the original author. After all, how many times did you see fans of a work come up with exciting theories on plot development or new mechanics, only for the authors to choose something a lot more disappointing?

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

My initial intention was to entice people to explain their favourites of either choice and maybe how they are so, and we'd all have fun and laugh and it would've been a wonderful jolly outing for the day, instead of people just selecting the most logical option and leaving it at that. Maybe I was too subtle with wording. Or...not wording properly.

Heroes are no fun, missing the point all the time. It sure gets lonely at the top of the supervillain chain, and when you do try to make a bonding exercise out of lifelong imprisonment and torture of their loved ones, they don't even stay long enough to notice the extravagant buffet you prepare for them! [small]They're doing it all wrong!! How will I ever extract this useful information now?[/small]

Well I think most if not all gamers aren't actually villains. They're just really bitter and disdainful at the gaming industry. Every outlet is calling us every -ism in the book, every developer is lying their ass off on features, every programmer is a blind monkey who works for peanuts, and every gaming community is filled with 12 year olds using Fag and Nigga like they're going out of style.

Its a bleak existence we live, just not an evil one.

 

[Tsun Tzu]

I'd save the IP...

Just give me a new Bloodlines, god damn it.

 

[Imre Csete]

That villain seems to have a sweet gig going on, capturing developers and IPs to make them dance for your amusement and churn out games you'll like seems enticing.

I'll usurp the publisher.

*rolls d20*

 

[RedRockRun]

It's hard to choose one or the other. A good developer is more likely to make a good game, but good IP requires good development to be good. Take my avatar for example. Forget a return to the glory days of The Metal Age; I'll take Deadly Shadows, but games don't just appear out of thin air. Thief is still good IP. It's just being mishandled - similar to Paris Hilton and her ownership of a Lexus LFA. Initially I was going to choose the developer for the simple reason I began with, yet good devs can turn to the dark side, and OP knows this. He knows, but he will definitely not tell you because this is a long con. Often times fans of the originals can do more justice to the IP than the original devs. Just look at DOOM. Would you have trusted John and John to work with Id and produce anything as great as DOOM? They made Wolfenstein, Doom 1 and 2, and Quake. They made those games at a certain point in time, got famous for them, and probably want nothing more to do with them. Now they're no longer all the RAGE of the gaming world and been on the BRINK ever since, making all sorts of weird and ridiculous things or barely anything at all, victims of not being able to keep up with the times. Hugo Martin on the other hand was a long-time fan with the passion and the chops, so we got to see DOOM successfully fight through Development Hell. Hence I choose the IP. Under the conditions that the IP is faithfully revitalized and not just used to regurgitate something as in the case of Duke Nukem Forever, then it's the IP for me. Make Thief snarky, morally ambiguous, mysterious, and not:

Spoiler

moody, QTE's, linear, Assassin's Creed, heavy-handed, RPG-upgrades, 2edgy, gameplay breaking animations, etc. etc. etc.

again.

 

[happyninja42]

This is why only fools are heroes. Because you never know when some lunatic will come along with a sadistic choice...

Thankyou, William Dafoe, couldn't have said it better myself. Now get back in your box of needly torment!

*Ahem* Hello, pitiful humans and overzealous interferers of ingenious design, I am your cartoonishly operatically evil, filthy rich video-game publisher, [small]for we are many,[/small] and we grace you today with a small mercy, a gift for your unquestioning obedience...a choice to free what you love the dearest.

Wheel out the subjects, my beautiful (and definitely not imprisoned) assistant!

On your left... you will see your favourite developer, malnourished and unkempt, skittery yet full of empty, distant stares caused by years of overworked, stressful demands on projects they no longer have creative control over. They are mine to pull and twist the strings as I make them dance to the clumsy whims of faceless shareholders, their souls fading into obscurity as they snap anxiously at each other trying to decide the next justification for microtransactions.

On your right... you will see your favourite IP withering away, barely recognisable through the corporate meddling that has left festering wounds of loot-boxes, day one DLC, parceled out content for future profitable sales...oh I have great plans for this sweet darling, should it be the episodic scalpel or the online-only F2P bone-saw I introduce gently next? Decisions desquisions...

...

Now over to you, dearest 'hero,' you can only free one, to do as they wish for the rest of their existence; for I am merciful.
The other must remain in my iron-grip clutches as they sing to my every indulgent tune; for I am not really merciful at all, haha!!

Who and what are your choices? Whom will you save and why?
Will it be your esteemed developer, stripped of all their IPs, but creatively free (more or less)?
Orrr will it be your darling IP, unchained and released to be given to whomever you desire (more or less)?

[small]*They don't have to be related to each other, but it would add to the bittersweet drama if so.[/small]

This isn't really even a choice. One is a group of real human beings that could have their lives improved and the other is a product. I free the people from your clutches so they can improve the quality of their lives, and probably make some really awesome IPs in the process. I still have all the good games from the IP you will try and destroy, so you can't really retroactively make them suck as a result.

So yeah, you need better dualities evil bear!

But seriously, if by "freeing" the humans you mean getting them out from under the shitty restrictions of some developer's contract, and other real world problems that cause genuine stress, and can ruin lives through anxiety, depression, loss of income and productivity, and other factors, or making sure Super Mario Ass Blast 27 is just as good as Super Mario Ass Blast 3D was....yeah I'm choosing the humans

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

This isn't really even a choice. One is a group of real human beings that could have their lives improved and the other is a product. I free the people from your clutches so they can improve the quality of their lives, and probably make some really awesome IPs in the process. I still have all the good games from the IP you will try and destroy, so you can't really retroactively make them suck as a result.

So yeah, you need better dualities evil bear!

But seriously, if by "freeing" the humans you mean getting them out from under the shitty restrictions of some developer's contract, and other real world problems that cause genuine stress, and can ruin lives through anxiety, depression, loss of income and productivity, and other factors, or making sure Super Mario Ass Blast 27 is just as good as Super Mario Ass Blast 3D was....yeah I'm choosing the humans

Admittedly, the human element may seem the obvious choice for those with any ounce of humanity. But I am but a mere humble supervillain, willing to tease and entice the worst of your desires out from under those warm cosy rugs of heroic empathy. How much you care for these squabbling souls makes little difference to me, as long as you join the fun and play the game! And please do not hesitate to utilise the buffet table, I very much spared no expense there...

 

[American Tanker]

I say again: Get in, grab the dev, get out.

Now you're tempting me to hang around just long enough to leave some C4 at the buffet table, so that you're left with an unimaginable mess.